Projectile.



A. WRATZKE.

PEOJEGTILE. APPLICATION FILED JUNE 10, 1910.

Patented Jan.24,1911.

Cit

tlh liTEfti g p P @li ALFRED VJRATZKE, 0F ESSEN-ON-THE-RUHR, GERZMANY, ASSIGNOR Tfi FRIED. KRUPP AKTIENGESELLSCHAFT, 0F ESSEN-ON-THE-RUHR, G'ERIIIANY.

PROJECTILE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 24%, L lli Application filed June 10, 1910. Serial No. 588,227.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALFRED \HLYIZKE, a subject of the Emperor of Germany, and a resident. of issen-on-the-ltuhr, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Projectiles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to projectiles which have a grenade char e and arranged in the base chamber, a shrapnel charge, and has for its object to raise to the highest possible etticiency, the cited; of the projectile in impact firing without appreciably reducing its effect in shrapnel tiring. This purpose is attained, according to the inventimi, by arranging the exploding substance constituting the grenade charge, partly in a shot chamber lying in advance of the filling shot, partly in an intermediate chamber lying behveen the tilling shot and extending in the vicinity of the base chamber, and partly in the spaces lying among the filling shot.

In the accompanying drawing one illustrative embodiment of the invention is shown in longitudinal section.

The hollow of the projectile body is closed at its front end by a hollow head-piece consisting of two parts a and (l which are screwed together. The head piece (1 C, which is provided with a double fuse comprising a time fuse A and an impact fuse B, contains a grenade-charge F consisting of high-explosive. A detonator E, which stands in communication with the pellet b of the imp-actft1s' extends into the grenade-charge F. A second grenade charge G of high explosive is located beneath the first in a strong shell H, whose axis coincides with the longitudinal axis of the projectile and is rigidly secured to the head-piece 14 C. The shell H reaches to about the middle of the hollow projectile body I) and is provided at the middle of its base with a bore 71'. Tightly closed against the end of the shell H, is a thin wall closed housing J, which receives a third grenade charge K of high explosive and is seated in the driving disk L. A fourth grenade charge M likewise of high explosive, is located at the intermediate portion of the hollow body of the projectile and in the spaces between the filling shot N.

The base chamber of the projectile receives the shrapnel charge P, which consists of a. bursting substance (for example, smokepowder), which, according to the degree of excitation, can be exploded or detonated. This charge is connected through :an ignition tube Q with the time fuse A. The ignition tube has such a small section that the igniting liaine cooling from the time fuse towing to the throttling induced by its passage through the narrow igniting tube) can readily produce an explosion but not a detonation of the base chamber charge P. The dimensions of the igniting tube Q are readily so determined by experiment that the desired purpose will be attainet. I

In shrapnel tiring, after the projectile has traversed the distance for which the time fuse has been set, the igniting lianle coining from the time fuse will be conducted through the tube (,2. to the shrapnel charge P and -auses the latter, for the reasons above given, to explode and not'to detonate. By the explosion of the shrapnelcharge, the drivin disk L, the housing J the filling shot N ant "onstituting the projectile head, together with the shell H will be projected. This causes the filling shot to act like-those of an ordinary shrapnel without any detonation of the grenade charge M, located among them, taking place. Much less is there any detonation of the grenade charge K at this time, since the housing J separates itself from the shell H when projected from the projectile body and finally drops ineffectogether withthe shell H continues forward until it strikes. The shell H imparts to the projectile members, the property of an arrow shot, at. this time, so that tumbling of the projectile parts, during the flight, is pre vented. Vere the housing J omitted and the shell H extended to the driving disk L, the beneficial influence ofthe shell H, upon the path of flight of the projected parts, as experiments have shown, would be partial] lost. Upon impact of the projectile heac, the impact fuse ll comes into efiect and causes detonation of thegrenade charges F and G through the medium of the detonator E. k

In im act firing, the charges F and G pact fuse B and the detonator E, immediately after impact of the projectile. This fractures the shell H. The detonating flame thus strikes into the grenade charge M and l qw the head-piece a, C and the double fuse A B,

tively to the ground. The projectile head,

i are brought to detonation through the imill) .to detonate.

impact, an extraordinarily heavy effect.

Smce in grenade firing, the charges detonating with explosive effect extend over nearly the entire length of the projectile, the projectile possesses a particularly large area of destruction. At the same time, the described arrangement of the grenade and shrapnel charges secures the advantage of not essentially reducing the space for the filling charge so that the projectile has a high efficiency as a shrapnel shot.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Aprojectile with a grenade charge and, having arranged in its base chamber, a shrapnel charge; said grenade charge being arranged in a middle chamber surrounded by the shrapnel filling shot, said projectile being provided with a head having an impact fuse arranged therein, and said middle chamber comprising two parts, of which the forward partis. rigidly connected with the projectile head, while the rear port-ion is releasably arranged relatively to the for- X ward part.

2. A projectile with a grenade charge and,

in an immeasurably having arranged in its base chamber, a shrapnel'charge; the burstin material constituting the'grenade charge eing arranged partly-in a middle chamber, surrounded by the shrapnel filling shot, partly in a projec tile chamber, lying in advance of the shrapnel filling shot, and partly in the spaces between the shrapnel filling shot, said projectile being provided with a head. having an impact fuse arranged therein, and the said middle chamber comprising two parts, of. which the forigniting said grenade charge anda time fuse connected with the shrapnel charge through the medium of a fire-tube of sufliciently small section to excite plosion but not to detonation, said grenade charge being arranged in a middle chamber, surrounded by the shrapnel filling shot and consisting of two parts, of which the' forward part is rigidly connected with the pro- Vjectile head, while the rear portion is releasably arranged re atively to the forward part, said shrapnel charge being subject to detonation when the grenade charge arranged in said middle chamber is detonated.

said charge to ex-.

I The foregoing specification signed at Barmen, Germany, this 25thday of May, 1910.

ALFRED WRATZKE. has] In presence of- Or'ro KoNIe, Cnas; J. WRIGHT, 

